Hoover permitted 301 new single-family homes from January through August, more than six neighboring cities combined, but 10% fewer than in 2025.
Hoover issued building permits for 301 new single-family homes in the first eight months of 2026. That is more than six neighboring cities managed between them.
The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey, which collects permit counts from city building departments every month. The latest place-level file for the South covers January through August.
Hoover is still building at a slower pace than last year. The city permitted 335 homes over the same eight months of 2025, so this year’s total is 34 homes, or 10%, lower.
How Hoover compares
Hoover’s 301 homes compare with these neighbors over the same months:
| City | Homes permitted, Jan.-Aug. 2026 | Same months of 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Hoover | 301 | 335 |
| Bessemer | 83 | 52 |
| Pelham | 72 | 106 |
| Helena | 38 | 53 |
| Vestavia Hills | 32 | 64 |
| Homewood | 14 | 18 |
| Mountain Brook | 13 | 11 |
Those six cities permitted 252 homes together. They have about 160,000 residents between them, against Hoover’s 92,401, according to the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Bessemer, about nine miles west, is the only one of the six well ahead of last year. Mountain Brook is up two homes. Pelham, about six miles south, and Vestavia Hills, about seven miles northeast, are both well behind.
Birmingham, about 10 miles north, permitted 65 single-family homes. It also permitted 281 units in duplexes and apartment buildings, which Hoover has not done this year.
Month by month
Hoover’s monthly totals have held between 25 and 46 homes all year:
- January: 30
- February: 25
- March: 41
- April: 46
- May: 37
- June: 40
- July: 45
- August: 37
The bureau’s August file for the South puts the estimated construction cost of the 37 homes permitted in August at $16,654,017.
Costlier to build
Builders put the construction cost of this year’s 301 homes at $158,651,446. That works out to about $527,000 a home, up from about $510,000 a home over the same months of 2025.
That is the cost of building the house, as the builder declared it on the permit. It does not include the land, and it is not a sale price.
The longer view
Hoover permitted more homes in each of the past two years than in 2023, according to the bureau’s annual files:
| Year | Single-family homes | Units in apartment and other buildings |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 342 | 0 |
| 2024 | 425 | 0 |
| 2025 | 432 | 292 |
The 292 multifamily units in 2025 were in five buildings, four of them with five or more units each, according to the 2025 annual place file. None were permitted from January through August of that year.
What it means for you
- For buyers: A steady supply of new homes gives more choice, but new Hoover homes are being built at a higher cost than last year. The typical Hoover home was worth a record $437,458 in September; read our Hoover home values story and the home prices page.
- For neighbors of a building site: New subdivisions and rezonings come before the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. It next meets at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at City Hall, 100 Municipal Lane, according to the city calendar.
- If you are building or remodeling: see our building permits and zoning page for when you need a permit and how inspections work.
A permit is not a finished house. The Census Bureau counts homes authorized, not homes started or completed, and it revises the monthly figures in its annual file. Hoover’s city limits cross into Shelby County, and the figures cover the whole city.
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